Apparatus and method for forming edible receptacles



June 11, 1935. -c w HOWE ET AL 0 2,004,530

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR FORMING EDIBLE RECEPTACLES Filed June 21, 1933i wewfm Hui CW. Hows 7 9 z/Tfi. New?! Patented June 11, 1935 UNITEDjsTAr said Nevin V ApplicationJun 21, 1933, Serial No. 676,848 r Y o m 1ic'laims o1. 107 -15) Iihis invention pertains to an apparatus andmethod of--forming edible receptacles for various a stand e k 5....Heretofore it; has beencommonpractise, in forming; edible receptacles,to either-shape thedough-to a, mouldq r-ndtcooking the: same-thereon;

or-"tomast the same in a -mould; ,-forming the desiredshape by: means ofa; plunger; and there-- ;after cooking the product whilein the mould.

fllhe first method is cumbersome and expensive, and whilez the.secondmethodis; satisfactory for receptacles: such asice creamcones-made from a light batter, which. does I not: contain an; ap-

15; .preciablel amount; ;of\ sugar or; other. sticky ingredients, the.same cannot be-used in connection;

with aisugarbatter; dueto the-fact that a batter of, this character willadhere tothe,- moulds.

gredients, heretofore presenting} serious; ,diflicul- 251 glties. e

Inc dental .t theior oin am re sp c fi s -obi t. f he. nventignr lle p opuff. such arrangement facili.tates feedingofsthe ear-v an anpa t n tm aa nd; e a bleblanks tothe-iemaledie; and-subsequenfidis die, by meansofrwhich a'fl'at, cooked watfie, or

3Q;,;blank is formedinto a receptacle for the recep- I .tion ot-icecream; or other foods.

A further object resides in the novel, improved T With the aboveandoother objects invview, which will; appear. as thedescriptionproceeds, the invention resides in the novel construction, combinationand arrangement of parts, substantially li asl hereinafter described and"more" particularly definedby the appended claims, it being understoodthat. such changes in the precise embodiment of the herein disclosedinvention may be made ascome -withinthe scopeof the claims.

Inithe accompanyingdrawing isillustrated one complete; example gof: thephysical embodiment of thapresent invention constructed: accordingtogthe; bestfmodeso far idevised for the practical application of thepri-nciples thereof.

,;I, r; l- .ed aw n a a female die.

ing'thereceptacle from themale die.

Figure 1 is afra-gmentary elevation'of an as;

E paratus constructed in accordance with, one form T foodproductssuchasice cream, confections,;sal t,

of the present invention; partsbeing broken awayv and in section to moreclearly illustrate-the; structural;details Figurez is a detail vertical:section'through the 3 Figure 3'is a plan viewoi the same. L Figure leisa detail of the strippers,-for-rernov Figure 5 is aviewof thewafflevor-blankfr om'= which the receptacle is formed,- and Figure 6 is anelevation of thefinished' recep tacle.

Referring now more particularly tothe 'accom i-ila-g panying drawing,the numeral i designatesa; frame, which may be fabricated-fromangle-iron; or? any other suitable material; in siany desired;

shape for the-supportof a:fema1e; d1e':2- and a) reciprocating male die-3;the-latter beingsecured{ Q;,

toitheyendof a plunger:4-slidablymountedrwitha in;thejournals 5supported:-uponsthe rbrackets 8" secured to the incline upright 1,-.-of.-the-frame* lb Forthe. purpose of convenience,-both themale astbestshown; in Figure ;1;- it: being foundntliat chargeof thecompletedreceptacle.

provided with a P6085818, so formed ias to pro-; duce a receptacle ofthe desired-contour; Obvi-p ously therecess 8 may be of various-"depthand diameter to produce-either a comparativelyshale. r

low;-c ontainer, or adeep narrow one;- -dependingpx uponthe purposefor-whichitisu tobeus'ed. As will be noted'in'Figure 2;-thebottom- 0fthe recess t8 terminates in a: straight well por tion 9, for thereception of a plunger mymou'nted upon-the stem-l l, whichis:slidablyjournalediin I aybush-ing. I 2 mounted in -thebottomof-thedie 2.1 The lower end:of,the;stem i2 isguided in-ia" bracket93f connectedwith thevdie z, while a. coi 1,-

spring M, mounted on the stem, and-interposed;-

between the bracket 13. 'and, collartl5 securedto the stern servesto-normally urgetheplunger ID to hits projected position,, asshowninwFigure- 2.

Adjustab1y mounted upon the top of the die;2-,

adjacent its lower edge, is asemi-circularguardlt whichretainsithetwafile orblatnkuponthe top of the die 2,priortoiormingtheisameinto; a container by meanslof. theplunger L the.lower,

1 portion of which is rtapered toconformto the;

ape of new h twr se o t-these c shape, and embrace the male die 3.

guard I6 is to aline the waiiie, or the blank, with relation to therecess 8. Therefore the flanges H are provided with slots l8 forreception of the threaded studs IS. The purpose of this attachment is toprovide for the desired alinement of the waflie or blank with relationto the recess 8. In someinstances it is desired to, center the wafilewith relation to the recess, while in other instances, when it isdesired to provide an irregular edge on the container, wherein one sidewill be lower than the other, as illustrated in Figure 6, the guard I6is shifted to ofiset'thecenter of the blank with relation to that of therecess.

Inasmuch as the waffle or blank is cooked prior to forming the samewithin the recess; of the mould 2, it has been found that during theforming operation there is a tendency for small particles and crumbs tobreak off of the waflie.

Therefore, in order to eliminate such crumbs thus compensating forrocking movement of the arm andreciprocative action of the plunger 4.

The opposite end of the arm 2| is provided with a roller 23, whichengages the periphery of a cam 24 mounted on the shaft 25 and journaledin the bearings 26, which are carried by one of the transverse stretchesof the frame I. A spring 21, interposed between the lower end of the arm2| and the rear upright of theframe I, serves to normally urgethe roller23 into engagement 7 with the periphery of the cam 24. Obviously, as

the cam is'rotated, either manually or by power, oscillatory'movementwill be imparted to the arm 2|, which in turn reciprocates the plunger4, andthe male die 3. f

While it is not essential to the present inven tion, means have beenprovided for stripping the flanged 'contain ers'from the male die 3, towhich the containers adhere when the same is withdrawn from the femaledie 2. These strippers-comprise a pair of pivotalarms 28 carried by thebracket 29 mounted on the frame The outer end of th'e' arms 28 aresemi-circular in shown in Figure 4',"an expansile'sprin'g 3|] isinterposed between the rear ends of the arms 28; tourge the outer endsinto engagement with the male die 3; and yet permit the same to passtherethrough. d 1

As heretofore explained, it is proposed to form an edible container froma cooked waiiie or blank 3|, such as illustrated in Figure 5, and whilethis is shown as being circular in shape,

it is to be understood that any shape, such as rectangular ortriangular,may be provided without afiecting the'p'rinciples of the invention.

In practising the method included in the present invention, a batter ofany desired ingredients, whether sticky or otherwise, is provided,andcooked to a certain degree in any conventional manner, and whilethewaiiieis stillhot and in a pliable condition, the same is positionedupon the top of the die block 2, and supported thereon by the guard IS.The plunger 4 is then As best forced downwardly by the cam mechanism, asheretofore explained, causing the male die 3 to enter the recess 8, thusshaping the flat waflie or blank 3| to the contour of the die, and,obviously, due to thefolds which result, and a normally fluted edge, asshown in Figure 5, assuming the same is employed, the ,upper edge of thecontainer, after; being formed, will assume an irregular, fiutedcontourof highly attractive appearance, and simulating a hand-formedreceptacle, rather than a machine constructed product, which isconsiderably more desirable to the purchaser."

Asthe die 3 engages the blank 3| positioned upon the die block 2, thewaflie is securely held against the plunger 4, which is forceddownwardly intherecess 8 as the male die enters the same. Uponretraction of the die 3, the spring |4 causes the plunger II] to followthe die and eject the completed container from the female die. Anycrumbs or particles that may break off from the container during theforming operation are then discharged through the opening" 20 by meansof gravity. As the die 3 travels upwardly, a the arms 28, which embracethe same, willengage the upper edge ofthe container carried upon the die3, and gradually strip the container from the'die, causing the same tobe delivered to any suitable chuteor conveyor which delivers thecontainers from the machine;

While a single set of dies has been disclosed, it is to be understoodthat in the commercial production of containers with the 'present 'apparatus any number of dies' maybe provided in a gang arrangement, eachactuated by an inde-' pendent cam mounted upon the'shaft 25,'which maybe either manually or power operated,

From the foregoing explanation, considered in connection with theaccompanying drawing, it will be readily seen that an extremely simpleapparatus has been provided, and a highly im-" proved method employedfor producing edible containers formed from a batter containing suchingredients that heretofore required either awk-, ward or handoperations. In this connection particular attention is directed to thefact that the advantages derived by the present invention are dueprimarily to cookingthewafile prior to forming the same, ratherthancasting or, moulding the product and subsequently cookingthe same. 1

We claim:

-1. An apparatus of; the class described com-a .v prising, an angularlydisposed female die provided with atapered recess having a flatbottomand a vertical opening in said die communicating" with'the lowermostportion ofsaid recess for the discharge of particles therefrom, a maledieco-t operating with the female die to, form a container from apliable blank of dough,, mean's positioned in said recess forautomatically-ejecting the con-:

tainer therefrom upon retraction of the male die;

ing when depressed in said die; and yieldable said ejecting meansserving to close said-op'en-f ofthemale die to strip the containertherefrom.

2. An'apparatus of the class describedycomprising, an angularlrdisposedfemale die provided with a tapered'recess having a fiat bottom anda'vertical opening in said die communicating with the lowermost portionof said'recessfor the discharge of particles therefrom, a malediecooperating with the female" die to form a container from a blank, aplunger slidably journaled in said female die and provided with anejector head positioned within said recess and of substantially the samediameter as the bottom of said recess, said head serving to close saidopening when depressed in said recess, and yieldable means forsubsequently embracing the side walls of the male die to strip thecontainer therefrom.

3. An apparatus of the class described comprising, an angularly disposedfemale die provided with a tapered recess having a fiat bottom and avertical opening in said die communicating with the lowermost portion ofsaid recess for the discharge of particles therefrom, a male diecooperating with the female die to form a con tainer from a pliableblank of dough, and means positioned in said recess for automaticallyejecting the container therefrom upon retraction of the male die, saidejecting means serving to close said opening when depressed in said die.

4. An apparatus of the class described comprising, an angularly disposedfemale die pronaled in said female die and provided with an ejector headpositioned within said recess and of substantially the same diameter asthe bottom of said recess, said head serving to close said opening whendepressed in said recess.

- CHARLES W. HOWE.

JOHN A. NEVIN.

